


Terror of the Sea, Keeper of my Heart

by InkWell_and_Feather



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Developing Friendships, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Humanstuck, M/M, Mermaids, Merstuck, Pirates, Revenge, Sirens, Spies, adding as i go, mermaid au, sailors
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2018-03-25 08:04:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3802921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkWell_and_Feather/pseuds/InkWell_and_Feather
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Ampora's were cursed, it seemed. Doomed to die at the hands of mythical creatures known as Sirens.<br/>All except the youngest - Eridan.<br/>With the help of his friend and two very unlikely allies, he'll put an end to whatever bad luck has been attached to his family since the beginning. And if he finds something (see: someone) he likes along the way? He just might take it (see: them) for his own, like any good pirate would.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue 1 - Marquise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back y'all  
> This is un-Beta'd, which means all mistakes (if you find some, point 'em out for me? ;P) are my mistakes

“Cro, stop running so fast!” When Eridan agreed to play ‘Cops and Robbers’ with his big brother, he never thought playing Cop would be so _hard_. “I can’t keep up, stop!” His older brother just laughed and turned the corner towards the captain’s quarters.

Cronus never expected the door to swing open and knock him off his feet. Eridan came around the corner and stopped short.

“Cronus I’m _tired_ , can we stop for a sec-” The younger was cut off by the sight of his father, wearing his deep violet captain’s coat, filling up the open doorway. He was staring disapprovingly down at Cronus, like his eldest son was a bug he’d crushed under his shoe. “Dad?”

“Eridan.” His father acknowledged him with a slight nod in his direction, before turning back to Cronus, still on the floor and looking like someone had slapped him with a fish. His mouth moved, brain trying and failing to form words and excuses. “How many times, Cronus, have I told you not to run around below decks? And how many times have you disobeyed me?”

“Uh-” Cronus floundered for something to say, _anything_ to try and excuse his behavior. He came up with ‘uh’.

“How many times, Cronus?” The captain asked. Laced in his tone was an edge of steel, reserved for crewmembers who’d _really_ messed up.

“Too many, Sir.” Cronus replied, looking down at the floor. “I’ll try to do better.” His father was a scary bastard when he had a height advantage of several feet on someone. Factor in the fact that he was 200 plus pounds of muscle and rage, and Cronus was _not_ going to provoke or anger him if he could.

“You have deck swabbing duty for the next two days. I hope this time it will teach you to remember the rules.”

Captain Ampora turned to his younger son and smiled – which was more of a twitch in his lower facial muscles. Eridan fought the urge to shrink back, and lost when his father’s hand touched his shoulder.

“Come on son, I’ll show you how to tie a bowline hitch.” He led Eridan towards the upper decks with a hand on his shoulder, leaving Cronus alone to pick himself up off the floor and walk silently behind them.

 

Above deck the sun was shining, occasionally blocked out by a passing cloud or two. Shadows played tag on the main deck, appearing and disappearing as suddenly as they came. Seagulls swooped here and there, cawing and pecking at any sailor who came too close. The ship rocked gently from side to side as it glided along the sea, hoping to entice those on their breaks into a nap. Sailors moved across the deck with purpose, monitoring the ropes and sails, checking the wind and the direction they were headed, referring to the map and the compass. It was a good day for sailing, and the captain and his crew were taking full advantage.

“My father taught me this when I was first starting to become a proper sailor. Hold the rope like this, good.” Captain Ampora had given command to his First Mate and Partner, Marquise. The crew jokingly called her ‘Mindfang’, for how she could twist your thoughts to get her way, and make you think it was your idea. Eridan, being 6 and too young to remember any other matronly figure, accepted Marquise as his mom. Cronus, being 16, remembered his true mother perfectly. He didn’t - _wouldn’t_ \- accept Marquise as his mother, but accepted her as his father’s wife.

Marquise came up to him while he was swabbing and pretended to inspect his work. Cronus began scrubbing harder, wrenching the mop across the boards viciously. Soap flew on everything within a few feet of the mop head. Marquise took a step back to avoid soap on her boots.

“You’ve been mopping this particular spot for 10 minutes Cronus, what’s nipping at you?” She asked him. He grunted and moved to another spot. “Cronus, you know you can talk to me about anything.”

“Thanks, but I don’t want to.” He smiled at her, but anyone could’ve seen how fake it was.

“Did the captain put you on deck duty again? I doubt you’d be swabbing the deck for your own health.” Marquise smiled in a teasing way, trying to establish some kind of connection with the boy, but he just wasn’t having it. “Alright, you don’t want to talk, that’s fine with me. I’ll be around if you feel like changing your mind.” She sighed and walked to the ship’s wheel, inquiring about when the next time they could dock would be.

“LAND HO, CAPTAIN!” A shout from the crow’s nest got everyone’s attention. A boy, only a few years older than Cronus by the looks of him, scrambled down the ropes and handed Captain Ampora his spyglass, pointing in the direction of what looked like a small collection of jagged rocks. “See it yet, Sir?”

“Aye, that I do. Tell the helmsman to set a course for it, I see a small cave opening in the biggest rock.” He handed the spyglass to Marquise as the boy ran off to fulfill his orders. “I hope this is a treasure trove, instead of just another empty cave like last time.” He mused aloud. Marquise hummed and focused on looking at the cave opening.

Before they got close enough to launch a dinghy, the boat rocked dangerously. Many were thrown off-balance and clattered to the deck in astonishment.

“What was _that_?” Marquise asked in astonishment, grasping Captain Ampora’s offered hand to help her to her feet. “Did we hit something?”

“It would seem something his _us_.” The captain said as he readied his trusted harpoon, _Ahab’s Crosshairs_. “All hands to battle stations! Helmsman, keep us on course! Rogers, Barnes, get my sons below deck and stay with them. Everyone else, be ready for another hit!”

All the crewmembers waited with bated breath for the next attack. Eridan and Cronus followed Rogers and Barnes below deck to their shared room to wait out the upcoming battle. The captain had his harpoon’s tip poised over the side, finger itching to pull the trigger. His sharp eyes studied the calm blue waves, waiting for something to come close enough. Marquise had mirrored his position on the other side of the ship.

Everything was silent, but for the lapping of waves against the sides of _The Navis_.

The boat rocked a second time, more forcefully than the last. The water seemed to rise up and fall back with every motion the boat made. If this thing hit them any harder, they might tip over completely. “Be ready to counter a tip-over, lads!” He shouted. Four men broke away from their posts to prepare.

They didn’t get there fast enough. Nobody did.

Before anyone knew it, the _thing_ hit again and the boat tipped dangerously. Marquise was yanked over the side, either by momentum or by the _thing_ in the water, no one could tell. Someone yelled for the captain, but he was already there, hand already reaching down to grasp fruitlessly at Marquise’s. She had grabbed onto a piece of embellishment, fingertips turning white with exertion. Captain Ampora’s hand was suddenly in front of her, his normally stoic violet eyes filled with fear. She reached for his hand.

Their fingers brushed briefly, Captain Ampora being held up by his shins courtesy of his crewmen.

“Marquise, reach for me, grab my hand!” She stretched, feet scrabbling for purchase on whatever was pulling her down.

She slipped.

She fell.

Captain Ampora’s anguished roars still ring over the decks of _The Navis_ even today.


	2. Prologue 2 - Cronus & Captain Ampora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little long, as it includes both Cronus and Captain Ampora  
> Next chapter is going to be Eridan and Sollux, I promise.  
> **MAJOR BLOOD MENTIONS AT THE END**MINOR GORE AT THE END**

The next 4 years were hard on _The Navis_. Captain Ampora was dragging them all across the sea chasing what most had called a myth. He was convinced that Sirens had taken his wife. Anyone who tried to tell him that he was wrong or that something else must’ve happened was thrown off the side to the waters waiting below. The captain never spared them a glance as they fell.

Eridan became part of the crew, entered on the jobs roster to rotate into the chore circulation. He was also taken on as the official Captain-in-Training. In his spare time, he was taught how to be a helmsman, knot-tying, star-reading, seaman’s terms and a wide collection of other nautical essentials. The sea was his second home, the first being his father’s ship.

Cronus chose to stay on land more often than not, claiming he was staying with a ‘friend’. He hardly engaged in conversation anymore, he seemed to shrink into himself whenever he got close to the ship or the water. When pressed about it, he’d deny it and claim he was just ‘not feeling the ocean today, that’s all.’

The rift between the captain and his eldest son grew bigger with every trip.

 

On one of the rare voyages that Cronus chose to tag along on, the ship stopped on a small island. The captain’s great-grandfather had chosen this island to be their safe-haven; it’s corresponding map was pock-marked with x’s dictating heavy caches of treasure. After a successful raid on a few government ships, the captain saw fit to unload a bit of their ‘’burden’’. Cronus and Eridan, being either too small or too unproductive to help, had stayed on the beach. They sat beside each other, staring out to the horizon. Eridan had his knees drawn up to his chest and his shoes beside him. Cronus was skipping rocks with a rather melancholy look on his face.

“Missin’ yer boyfriend?” Eridan asked, unfolding his legs, picking up a pebble and whipping it across the water. It skipped twice before falling to sit at the bottom. Cronus’ hand slipped and the rock splashed off to their right. He whipped his head around to gawk at his little brother.

“Excuse me?” He said. Eridan threw him a glance that screamed ‘ _are you serious_ ’. Cronus vaguely remembered seeing on it father years ago. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Uh-huh.” Eridan said.

“I don’t!”

“Oh no, I _totally_ believe you. You don’t have a boyfriend.”

“How do you know I don’t have a girlfriend instead, huh? Punk.” Cronus wrapped his left arm around his little brother’s neck and ruffled his hair with his right. Eridan laughed and tried to shove him off. “Say it, say I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Cronus, you know dad doesn’t let me lie!” Eridan pushed his brother’s arm off his head and tried in vain to fix his hair. “Besides, I’m sure Kankri wouldn’t mind being your boyfriend.” Cronus’ cheeks blazed red and he clammed up. He tried to skip another rock but it fell short and sunk to the ocean floor. Eridan chuckled.

He stopped when the pebble came back up to smack Cronus in the forehead.

The brothers shared an astonished look before one of them tossed another pebble in. It came back to the same spot. Eridan noticed two little gashes on Cronus’ forehead. Blood was starting to trickle down the side of his head.

“You’re seein’ this, right?” Eridan asked, awestruck. Cronus only nodded, eyes and mind focused on trying to identify the dark shape coming towards the shoreline. “You’re seein’ _that_ too, right?!”

“Go get dad, go!” Eridan hesitated for a second, unsure if he should pull his brother away from the water or just run like hell to wherever their father was. “Eridan, GO!” He took off for the trees, but stopped when he heard a gasp from the water. Years later, he’ll admit his biggest mistake was turning around instead of running like he ought to.

The top of a woman’s head was emerging from the water, short raven hair glistening in the sunlight. Two long braids trailed down past her shoulders and into the waves. Her skin was grey, with a slightly pink tinge to it. Scales on her cheekbones and collarbone caught the light and sparkled like no jewel ever could. When she was nearly halfway out Eridan could see the beginnings of more scales turning into a tail just below her navel. She had shells in her hair, almost like a strange aquatic tiara. Cronus was stalk-still, afraid to move or even breathe.

“Come with me,” Her voice warbled like ocean waves on a windy day, her teeth looked like they’d been taken from a shark and sharpened. Fins where human ears would be fanned out and flapped gently, the membranes between them the same pink as her scales. Her wicked smile was sharp enough to cut diamonds.

Cronus started walking forwards. It seemed as though he was pulled, _compelled_ , by music that only he could hear.

“Cronus, no!” Eridan didn’t mean to yell, it slipped off his tongue without his knowledge. Both Cronus and the Siren turned to look at him, and Eridan got a true look at the monster that was about to take his brother forever. Her delicate and petite features morphed into something nasty; bits of fish bones and scales caught between her teeth, a milky film over her large black eyes, her body suddenly much more sinewy and lanky than curvy and smooth. Gills had flared on her neck and her once almost beautiful fins were full of holes, one had a few small tears in it. Eridan recoiled at the sight, disgusted at her appearance. Didn’t his brother see that?

Eridan’s last memory of his older brother was a scowl and the bird as he walked into the surf after a Siren.

 

Captain Ampora was furious. Furious at himself for not being there, furious at Eridan for not listening to his brothers last words, furious at the Sirens for taking both his wife and his eldest son. He was pacing a rut into the space in front of his desk nightly, muttering and gesturing wildly.

“The Cap’n ain’t himself lately, lads.” The new first mate, Davies, said. He was holding a meeting for the crew in the mess hall. Eridan was on deck, manning the helm with a second set of crewmembers who would join Davies later for the same meeting. They had decided not to invite him, incase word got back to the captain.

“Aye, but what’re we gonna do ‘bout it?” Someone asked.

“We’re gonna humour ‘im fer a while, make him think t’at we actually believe alla this Siren bullsiht. Then wer gonna t’row him on his island and leave ‘im there.” A Low murmur broke out through the hall, which was quickly shushed. “Any o’ ye who donnae wish te follow through, leave now and _donnae tell the cap’n._ ” Everyone exchanged glances but no one moved from their seats.

“Oy, but what ‘bout Eri?” Barnes spoke up.” I’m not up fer killin’ a kid, Davies.”

“Eridan’s got ‘is head on straight – thank Neptune - soon as his da’s done fer, he’ll take over command.” Davies explained. “Now get outta here, back to yer posts!” Eridan ducked out of the way of the door as it opened and crewmembers starting piling through. He turned the nearest corner and made his way silently to his bunk.

_His_ bunk.

With Cronus…away…it was _his_ bunk now. The empty bed on the opposite side of the room seemed so much bigger now that his older brother wasn’t there to fill it. But no, he had to focus on the task at hand. The crew was planning a mutiny against his father, he couldn’t let that happen.

But, they were going to let him take his rightful captaincy. Was he ready? Did he even _want_ to?

A sharp knocking on his door yanked him out of his head and into the present. “Who’s there?”

“It’s McCoy, Alan is wondering if yer gonna come back up top and finish yer shift.” Could he go up there are face everyone with what he knows? Could he keep a secret around his father? Eridan stamped down on the urge to groan in frustration and told McCoy he’d be back up in a few minutes, he was cleaning the sea spray from his glasses. Not a complete lie, at least.

Eridan sighed and went up to help Alan, trying to come up with a plan without even knowing which side he wanted to help.

 

The crew’s mutiny never came to fruition. It never needed to.

_The Navis_ was sailing across calm waters, en-route to the nearest port to try and sell off some of their loot. Nobody was really paying attention, preferring instead to share some drink and talk of what they would do with their share of the money. Barnes, wasted beyond reason, was strolling along the deck and proclaiming to anyone he could make eye contact with that he would be purchasing a large shipment of plums, and no one could share with him. Alan, who was manning the barrel everyone received their drink from, decided to cut him off.

The captain was telling Eridan about the bumper knot and what bait to use close to which ports.

“Being able to replenish your food stores while on the water is sometimes to difference between life and death, Eridan. If the nets are catching anything, bait fishing is your next best bet. Make sure the h-”

The boat rocked. Captain Ampora’s head shot up from where it was bent over a fishhook and sought out the eyes of his Barrelman.

“I dinnae see anything, Captain!” Duke shouted from up in the crow’s nest. He barely took his eyes off the surrounding waters, trying to see what they hit. Or what hit _them_.

And suddenly it was like no time had passed at all. It was four years ago; the day Marquise was taken. The boat rocked a second time and a few crewmembers fell to the deck. Without prompting, McCoy took Eridan down to his bunk to wait this out. Eridan protested, convinced he could help this time. A sharp glare from his father had him following McCoy below decks.

Of course, McCoy was the ship’s medic, not a babysitter. If Eridan slipped out while he wasn’t looking, then he didn’t have to tell anybody.

Up on deck, the crew was at battle stations, weapons poised and nets ready. They were going to catch this beast and let the captain have his way with it. The boat rocked and the crew members at the sides of the ship could’ve reached out and brushed the water with their fingers. A dark shape was swimming round and round, a hypnotizing effect for the weak-minded. Davies threw the nets over, and with Barnes’ help they pulled it into the deck. Whatever they caught was thrashing and wriggling, trying to rip through the net or whatever got close enough.

“Bloody hell…” No one moved. They never thought the legends were true. How could they? Half-fish, half-human creatures that attack ships and steal sailors right off the deck? Anyone who said they actually exist must have scurvy.

And yet…

On the deck, caught in the net was what looked to be a woman, with long hair black as the night sky and a tail the colour of dawn. Scattered scales traced their way up her stomach and tapered out just below her breasts. More scales dotted her cheeks and chin. They shone like diamonds in direct sunlight. Her eyes were huge inky orbs that caught the sunlight and sparkled like obsidian. She was hissing and spitting and clawing at anyone who got too close. Her tail was as long as she would’ve been if she had legs, an impressive set of fins at the end flapping occasionally on the sopping wood.

“It’s a Siren. This can’t be right, t’ey don’t exist, cap’n, are ye seein’ this?” She seemed to recognize ‘Siren’, her almost bloody lips pulling into a grotesque smile. Her rows of pointy teeth poked out onto her bottom lip. A crown of seashells sat low on her forehead, the biggest – a hermit crab shell - in the middle. A multitude of bangles decorated her wrists which clinked and jostled when she moved.

“You.” Captain Ampora stepped through the ring of seamen to stand in front of the Siren.

“Me.” She answered back. Her voice was like velvet rubbed the wrong way. Appealing and sweet, but abhorrent if you focused on it. “Miss me?”

“Cap’n, you _know_ this beast?” Alan, the helmsman, asked. Surely their captain, famous for hating Sirens and hunting them until they just gave up, wouldn’t fraternize with such a creature?

“Aye. ‘Tis is the wicked devil that took my wife.”

“A what a delicious woman she was; I can still remember how she called for you as I ripped her limb…from…limb.” That smile again; so shark-like but so human. A few seamen took a fearful step backwards.

The captain aimed his crosshairs over the Siren’s heart, finger milliseconds from squeezing the trigger, when chaos broke out. Eridan, in his haste to try and help, had slipped up on a stray piece of rope that was dropped in the rush to battle stations. While everyone was looking at Eridan face down on the deck, the Siren flipped her tailfin and caught Captain Ampora on the face. He screamed and dropped his weapon, one hand clutching his face while the other groped for something to hold onto.

The Siren flashed a wicked grin and sunk her claws into his boot. She was not as helpless on land as the crewmembers had thought. She used her enormous tail like a snake used its body, slithering towards the side of the ship. A slimy, foul-smelling trail was left in her wake. Captain Ampora was dragged along, helpless under her superior strength. His nails scrabbled at the deck, some places leaving grooves as he tried to escape the same fate as his wife.

Eridan looked up at his father’s enraged roar, seeing him hanging on for dear life to the side of the ship. Blood was running down in rivulets all over his face, no one was able to tell what was wound and what was just bloody unmarred skin. His right eye was scored and bleeding as well, eyelid blinking rapidly, uselessly, to try and staunch the flow. The crewmembers were stunned into paralysis; all of them unable to move a finger to help their captain as he was dragged kicking and screaming over the side. Blood had made a separate trail over the Siren’s across the deck, mixing in with the slime and making it impossible to walk without slipping and falling.

The last time Eridan saw his father’s face he was profoundly mutilated, fighting a Siren from the depths of hell itself, and screaming out his name with every curse word he could think of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I visited my grandma this week passed, and was basically wi-fi free the whole time :(  
> But now I'm back and I'm hoping to post a new chapter every weekend, if I can help it.  
> 


	3. Beaches and Being Beached

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is about the size of the first chapter, but I'm pulling a blank in Eri and Sol's dialogue for the next part and y'all deserve _something_ for waiting this long.  
>  Have some Eridan.

“No see, this is a prime piece of jewelry right here, 14 karat natural gold, 6 expertly cut sapphires that catch and reflect the light. Really, it’s a steal.”

“For the last time, I’m not buying your jewels. We didn’t buy from your father and we won’t buy from you. Eridan, I love you, but you’re a pirate. I don’t know where that came from or if you got it honestly.”

“Dia, c’mon, you know me. You’re the best jeweler in this port. I can’t go and sell these excellent-condition precious gems to a grocer. Buy one? Maybe?”

“You never answered my question. I’m standing firm on this one. Sorry, hon.”

Eridan sighed and picked up the necklace. He tossed it back in the burlap sack with the other gems and slung said sack over his shoulder. “Thanks anyway, Aradia. See you later.”

Eridan held up his hand to shield his eyes from the sun and let the door to _The Handmaiden_ fall shut. Outside on the street the sun was bearing down on anyone and everyone it could reach, its sunbeams like delicate golden ropes, snaking their way around everyone’s throats. Horse-drawn carts hurried along the cobblestone path, drivers obscured by large straw hats to protect them from the sun. Eridan made his way through the local market, past people trying to get home, sellers yelling about their wares and shouting at him to buy “the best oranges you’ve ever seen! 5 for 3 silver!”

By the time Eridan reached the boardwalk, his chest felt too tight to take a proper breath. He made it to his ship (a year of being the rightful captain, and calling it _his_ ship still felt foreign) and hurried aboard.

“Welcome back, Cap’n. Any luck?” Davies was waiting for him on deck, ready with his little paper full of Official Captain Business Things to go over with him. Eridan felt like jumping overboard at the thought.

“Uh, no. Not today. I’ll just sell them off to a banker at the next stop. I’ve got some…personal matters…to take care of on land, Davies. You’re in command until I get back, I won’t be too long.” Eridan hated the way Davies’ smile turned smug at his mention of ‘personal matters’ – his First Mate obviously thought he’d met someone pretty on land and couldn’t resist – but he was quick to walk back onto the docks without saying another word about it. He really needed to get out for a bit.

The young captain was never happier that this particular port had a beach out of sight of the docking area. Old wounds never heal if you keep ripping them open, and _The Navis_ was a constant knife in Eridan’s side. The crew had scrubbed for days to get his father’s blood out of the boards, but could never remove it completely. There was a faint red stain on one side, as if someone had spilled a barrel of wine carelessly. Eridan wished that it was just wine, and not the last piece of his father he’ll ever get to see.

Nobody blamed him for what happened. No one, except himself. He kept thinking that if he had just _look where you’re going for once, Eridan, I’m tired of cleaning up after you_ , maybe the siren would be the dead one. He kept playing his father’s last words in his head over and over and over, fantasizing new ways he could’ve helped or new ways where it didn’t go wrong.

The young captain was so caught up in his head that he was completely unaware of where he was going. He walked right into a rock and tripped ass over teakettle to the other side. He spat out a mouthful of sand and sighed. _Just my luck_ , he thought bitterly. _It’s all the siren’s fault. I don’t know how, but it is._

“I swear, if I ever get my hands on one’a their kind I’ll strangle the thing beyond recognition.” He muttered to the salty sea air. He righted himself and sat down on the rock, looking around in awe. He hadn’t even noticed he went this way, where was he? There were no buildings or signs or footpaths to help him get back. Aside from the fear that he was completely lost, the place was beautiful.

His rock was one of about ten others in a cluster near the shore, beaten smooth from the waves and a washed-out grey. It radiated heat, warming up the seat of his pants uncomfortably the longer he sat on it. A small cliff rose up to his right, topped with long green grass that blew gently in the wind. Seagulls swooped overhead, cawing out their strange songs and scanning the beach for stray fish. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky or an island in sight on the horizon.

It was a beautiful day.

Eridan laughed at his backwards luck and stood up from his rock. He’d desperately needed to get away somewhere, but now that he _was_ here, he couldn’t find his way back to save his life. _Don’t think about that, Eri. You’re on an island, just start walking and you’ll find someone. Eventually._

He chose to walk up the cliff, to try and see if he could see the town from up there. Once on top, he peered down at the blue-green waters below, churning softly and making creamy-white seafoam bounce against the rock at the bottom of the cliff edge. Eridan looked around, straining his eyes to see something, anything, that might look familiar. He found nothing of use. He groaned and tugged at his hair with one hand, the other on his hip.

“How fuckin’ lovely.” He spat.

But out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of something down on the beach. Wary that it was just glare from his glasses, he took them off and squinted blindly where he thought he saw the glint. And he saw it again, down on the other side of the cliff. It looked too big to be a fish, and whales generally don’t _sparkle_ , so what the hell was it? Stray metal? Washed up jewels from pirates long-past? Eridan shoved his glasses back over his eyes and raced down the cliff. He skidded to a halt when he remembered he was _completely helpless._ He had no weapons on him at all and here he was, running towards something shiny and possibly dangerous.

“Jesus, ya fuckin’ idiot. Haven’t you learned anythin’?” He chastised himself for his stupidity and looked around for a sharp stick or a jagged rock he could brandish. He found a spoon nearby and nearly grabbed it before realizing just how bad an idea that was. Thankfully the spoon was just one piece in a collection of random metal that had washed up. He grabbed a metal bar the size of his forearm and took a deep breath.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Navis - _Latin_ \- Ship, Vessel, Boat


	4. Dialog and Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this ready since like Wednesday but I didn't want to put out a new chapter too soon - considering I haven't even started the next one lol  
> I've posted more in a month than I have the last time I tried writing this fic. Wow.   
> Enjoy

God, the sun was a fucking dick. He wished it would go away, slip behind a cloud for a while and give him some reprieve. But _no,_ there it was, shining up there like some kind of golden death ray. It was _hot_ , and his kind was _not_ built for this type of environment. How did humans stand this shit? He could feel his skin sizzling and smoking, grey turning gold as he slowly burned.

He just _had_ to go and get himself beached, didn’t he? Fuck the queen, sending him on this crazy mission. He knew he wasn’t Turned, she _knew_ , and yet she still sent him out here to prove it. Now more than ever he wished the rebellion of his dreams existed. The hell was her plan anyway? Get him killed?

Oh.

That explains a lot, actually.

Sollux sighed and tossed his arm over his eyes. He was getting a headache. He couldn’t move much more than that, his heavy tail trapping him on the sand. His arms were too weak to try and pull himself back into the water.

Oh, the water. It looked so inviting, lapping gently against the very edges of his golden tailfins. Its gentle fingers caressed his tail, nowhere near strong enough to pull him back in. The sun, curse the thing until time ends, reflected off the waves and caused a glittering effect strikingly similar to way it played on his scales. 15 minutes on land and Sollux would already be willing to kill to get back into the sea.

His finned ears picked up the sounds of footfalls close by and he snapped into awareness. Two legs, walking slow. A human? This far out? He cast a quick glance that way and saw a young human, probably about his own age if he were human himself, carrying a small metal stick.

He’d be good-looking, if he wasn’t about to try and kill Sollux. A short-sleeved black shirt, a little tight around the biceps, and a pair of grey track pants. A rather large pair of black glasses sat on his face and magnified his brown eyes. Auburn hair with a purple streak down the middle (Really? Down the _middle_? How obnoxious) was pulled back into what looked like a poorly done bun. Pieces were falling out and flyaway hairs danced in the wind around his face. As he got closer, Sollux could see freckles dotted about his face and snaking their way down his neck to his shoulders under his shirt. They appeared again on his forearms and the backs of his hands.

He really would be handsome, if only he wasn’t steps away from Sollux with a metal murder weapon.

“What if I told you I could grant wishes?” He lisped his way through the sentence, hoping it came out clear enough. Talking on land was a bitch.

“Your kind can’t grant wishes; they only destroy dreams.” The human sneered.

“Wow, how poetic.” Sollux snorted. Was he one of those self-righteous pricks who thought they were doing God’s work by killing hundreds of his people? He hoped not. “Are you going to kill me with that, or just knock me out so you can sell me?”

“Sell you? Who would wanna buy _you_?” the human said. _Obnoxious and an asshole, what a catch, Sollux._

“So I assume that means you’re going to kill me. Grant a guy his dying wish?” Sollux tried to smile encouragingly, but even he could tell his sharp teeth were turning it into more of a grimace. The human sighed and rolled his eyes up to the sky – a silent ‘ _God help me,_ ’ Sollux was sure of it – but put down the pipe nonetheless.

“Alright. What.” Human crossed his arms and looked expectantly down at him.

“Tell me why.” That certainly wasn’t what the human was expecting. His eyebrows rose to his hairline and his mouth almost opened in shock. Sollux felt a peculiar sense of pride that he was able to make him do that. He shoved the feeling away.

“Why? Why what?”

“What an unfortunate combination, gorgeous _and_ stupid.” Sollux sighed. The human’s face contorted to one of anger and indignation, cheeks growing red.

“I’m not stupid, you beached whale!” He said. “Fine, you get your wish. I want to kill you ‘cause one of your kind killed my family. Satisfied?” The human was fuming, Sollux soaked it up like a sea sponge.

“ _I_ didn’t kill your family, why kill me? Is it just because of my species? That’s xenophobic, dude.” Sollux was thriving off the reactions he was getting from this human. He was so easy to rile up, and so expressive! “Wait, one of my kind you said? They didn’t happen to have fuchsia scales, did they?”

“Uh, yeah, actually, why?” Sollux’s face contorted from glee to confusion. Why the hell would the Queen kill a human family? She gets her rocks off by killing her own kind, why go for humans, too?

“What did you do to piss off the Queen?” Sollux said. It was the only feasible reason the Queen would go after humans; they had pissed her off somehow. The siren people (fish? Fish-people?) had learned shortly after the Queen had come into rule, never to provoke her ire. “And how come you aren’t dead too?”

“Are you tellin’ me, that it was the _Queen of all Sirens_ that killed my family?” The human became enraged at that, instead of the sensible reaction to become completely terror-stricken. “Fuck, that makes this a lot harder than I was plannin’. I’ll need a boat and some gear…”

Now, that got his attention. Was this human, this fragile, weak, _stupid_ human, planning to kill whichever random siren had killed his kin? No matter which one? Even if it was the Queen, the most ruthless of all underwater beings? Even sharks stayed away from her borders, surely this human wasn’t actually considering going down there and trying to murder the Queen, no, he would have to be an absolute mor-

“Hey, siren – can you help me?” Fuck.

He _is_ stupid.

“No. Sirens have a thing called self-preservation, I think you should try it out sometime.” He wouldn’t even help him if he offered to get him off this beach. It was a death wish either way. “Listen human-” here the human interrupted him - rather rudely - to tell him that his name was ‘Eridan’, “-alright, _Eridan_ , listen. There was this guy who didn’t like what the Queen was doing with her coral beds. He decided to leave her some helpful tips, some advice to make it look better. Keep in mind, her coral beds are fucking hideous and this guy was trying to do her a favor. Do you know what happened to him? We aren’t allowed to talk about him anymore. _He never existed._

“Now that you know what she would do to someone trying to give her gardening tips, I want you to think about what you’re doing, _really_ consider it.”

“So basically you’re saying that you don’t want to see her dethroned, or maybe even beheaded? That you’re okay with the clearly brutal way she rules?” Sollux suspected that Eridan could’ve gone on for far longer, but he decided to save himself a headache and stop him there.

“If we get caught, I want nothing to do with you. _Absolutely nothing_ , do you hear me?” Eridan’s resulting smile should not have sent something warm flooding through Sollux’s chest. He tried instead to think about getting his assets together for when he died. No matter how many scenarios he played – getting tortured, filleted, drowning, made to be the Queen’s personal servant – he just couldn’t stop that stupid warm feeling. He tried not to think about what it meant and failed at that too.

Maybe something good will come out of a bad decision.


	5. Failed Plans and Foolish Actions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh school started for me last Tuesday  
> Which means I was too busy trying to get my life in order lately to work on the latest chapter  
> But here it is! I'm not sorry about the cliffhanger tbh, I rather like them when it's me writing

The last time a siren had visited the human world was two generations before Sollux was hatched. The tale of Elizabeth was basically legend by his time.

Like all legends, it became a bit more warped, a bit more fantastical, as time went on, but the moral was still at its core. Elizabeth – Betty, as everyone called her – had travelled to the human world to see what it was like. Up there, she happened upon a docked ship full of pirates. Wary of the stories she was told as a fry, she hid and watched them unloading the ship. She became enamored with the captain and took a risk to introduce herself to him.

No one knows what happened after that. Mothers would tell the story to their young as a warning to stay away from the human world, or they’ll be snatched up just like Betty presumably was. Others took it to mean that they should run (or swim) for their lives if they saw a passing ship or got too close to shore.

There were no stories of humans coming down to the siren’s city. It just didn’t happen. Hardly any of the humans still believed sirens existed in more than just folk lore, and the city was thousands of miles off the nearest coast, sitting on the ocean floor. No human would ever have enough air to get down there, they thought. No human would be able to survive the pressure, and if they somehow accomplished both of these things then the Queen had guards posted in a ring around her city.

To the sirens, their city was the safest place they knew. Except for the occasional outburst from their Queen, of course.

Sollux tried telling all this to Eridan, who listened at least, but the information didn’t deter him in the slightest. Actually, it just helped him prepare better for what they would face.

 

“Alright fleshbag, you want to tell me how you’re planning to assassinate the ruler of my entire race?” Sollux asked, tail happily splashing in the water. He was only in enough that he wouldn’t dry out and die, not enough that he would be able to drag himself in further and swim away. The cool, salty water felt like eating a full-course meal after days of starvation to his dry and flaking scales. His sunburn went untreated, but he supposed he should acknowledge his small victories, or whatever.

“Well, my unlikely scale-y acquaintance, first I gotta deal with my little problem of getting’ down t’your city. Fortunately, you happen to be lookin’ at an expert diver. All I need is somethin’ to carry all the air tanks I’m gonna need. Luckily, I happen to have just the friend.” Eridan was smiling - God help Sollux’s heart before it swelled right out of his chest - and tapping away at a small glowing box. The human had tried to explain what it was to the siren but Sollux didn’t want to hear it. He left it in a category in his head called ‘Weird Human Shit’ and left it at that.

“Okay, so that’s the air and I assume the pressure problems solved.” Sollux said, as he ticked each item off on his fingers while he talked, “What about all the guards? You look like you can handle yourself fairly well on land, but I doubt you’d even be able to fight off a butterfly fish once you’re under. I could kill you with my smallest fin.” Sollux flapped his golden tail for effect. The water splashed and sparkled as it rained down on the two of them. Eridan scoffed and ran a hand through his now damp hair. The movement caused something in Sollux’s chest to flutter and a _zing_ of some sort of feeling to take up residence in his stomach.

“A’course I can handle myself underwater, fishface. I’m a sea captain – the water is my second home. The amount of times my old man threw me overboard for a trainin’ exercise would astound you.” The human puffed out his chest proudly, transforming his air to one more suited to the captain he claimed to be. Sollux felt his chest doing it’s little… _whatever_ …again and furiously told it to ‘ _calm the fuck down, thanks_.’

“Wait, _threw you overboard_? That’s seriously messed up, dude. Are you sure your dad wasn’t trying to kill you?” Eridan laughed. Sollux decided that he liked the sound and wanted to hear it again, and that he also despised the sound because it made him feel stupid for saying anything. “Don’t be embarrassed, it’s common among sirens. It’s supposed to be some sort of ‘coming-of-age’ bullsiht. What a tragedy that you didn’t fail.” His inner-self was eternally cringing at his outer-self’s pathetic attempts to save his scales.

Before Eridan could throw out another insult, a voice called out from just beyond the cliff. Sollux panicked and hurriedly scoured the area for a weapon of some sort. He grabbed a nearby rock and took a few deep breaths. He took a chance with Eridan – he won’t make the same mistake with this human. Eridan, however, didn’t even jump at the voice. In fact, he called back to it, a smile in his voice.

“Hey, Karkat! We’re over here.” The human plunked himself down on the sand next to Sollux and waited calmly for whoever ‘Karkat’ was to arrive. ‘Karkat’ took their sweet time, walking angrily over and glowering down at Eridan with his arms crossed. He didn’t sit down.

“What. Do you. Want.” His voice was a little higher than Eridan’s but had a gravely tone to it that Sollux guessed helped this kid with the bullying problem he no doubt had. One of his eyes was swollen but healing, a green-yellow bruise colouring his eyelid and the top of his cheek. There were a few scattered band-aids across his arms, and a patch of red-stained gauze on his left bicep. Karkat didn’t seem to notice Sollux.

“Karkat, my ol’ pal, my best friend! I need to cash in a favour.” Eridan smiled his warmest ‘give me what I want’ smile and turned so his entire body was facing Karkat. Sollux noted that he had established eye contact since Karkat was close enough to be able to return it. He absently noted that these were common body language ques of someone who wanted to talk to someone else. Apparently, Eridan has had plenty of practice getting people to do what he wants. Karkat sighed and uncrossed his arms.

“Alright, what do you need.” He said it as more of a confession, like something he wouldn’t even say at gunpoint. Clearly, he was very embarrassed that he was allowing Eridan his favour.

“I need your boat.”

“ _That_ old piece of shit? For what?” Karkat’s eyebrow raised and he finally noticed Sollux sitting next to Eridan. “What in the name of fuck is that thing?”

“Wow, fuck you too. I’m a siren, dumbass.” Sollux snapped, not really realizing he had said anything until it came out of his mouth. He clapped his hand over it immediately after this realization.

“Eridan why haven’t you killed that thing yet? Isn’t that like, your mortal enemy or something? Are you sick? Have you finally gone brain-dead from all that saltwater?” Karkat reached down and knocked a fist lightly against Eridan’s forehead. The other human waved him away grumpily.

“He’s helpin’ me, an’ I’m not brain-dead. Quit knockin’ me!” Karkat sniggered and conceded.

“As long as I don’t get sucked into whatever this is, you can have my boat. Just don’t fuck on the seats, I’m using them as my selling point.” Sollux’ cheeks burned gold under his sunburn and Eridan’s cheeks went as red as the gauze on Karkat’s arm.

“He’s a siren!” “That’s fucking disgusting!” They said at the same time.  Eridan scooted a few inches away from Sollux, who found himself missing the proximity of the other against his will. He’s known the human for, what, 4 hours? And already weird feelings were beginning to pop up.

The next few days were going to suck ass.

 

Karkat ended up going with them, seeing as Sollux was confined to the water and Eridan had never used a motorboat in his life. He was also appointed Official Air Tank Keeper and Eridan’s Diving Buddy, even though he wasn’t going to be touching the water at all.

Sollux was pushed further into the water and swam about happily as Eridan ‘suited up’. Karkat and his boat putted around the cliff, sending gentle waves to kiss the shore. The boat was in semi-okay condition. The paint was patchy and chipping and the motor occasionally made a funny sound somewhere between a sputter and a gurgle – but it was in good enough condition for their expedition.

“You ready, fishscum?” Eridan asked, wading into the water with the rest of his gear in a bag slung over his shoulder.

“Only if you’re ready to die, human garbage.” Sollux parried, diving under the water and relishing in how it felt against his sunburned skin. When his head breached the surface of the water, Eridan was sitting on the edge of the boat and giving a thumbs-up to Karkat. The siren dove under again as the human fell backwards into the ocean.

 

The first few hundred feet went by without incident, the most interesting thing being a school of fish darting past. It was at about 3 hours in that things began to get interesting; or go wrong if you’re especially pessimistic like Karkat. Eridan was coming back up on his last tank and they had no way to refill the other ones – Karkat didn’t know what the fuck he was doing and Eridan didn’t have an air compressor small enough to fit on Karkat’s boat. Eridan forced himself not to panic, to keep a calm head and use as little of the air as he could without making himself pass out.

The human’s head broke the surface and he took off his goggles. He grabbed at the ladder Karkat had on the side of his boat and hauled himself over the ledge. Sollux swam up beside the boat when the motor stopped and he leaned on the opposite ledge.

“I didn’ think it’d take this long – but my air compressor wouldn’t fit on this boat anyway. This is as far as I can go.” Eridan sighed. Most of his diving gear was carefully placed on the floor of the boat; clear, salty puddles quickly forming around the soaked metal and plastic.

Sollux had a decision to make.

He could let this suicide mission end here and they could all get on with their lives like normal – he was back in the water and technically free to swim away whenever – or he could help Eridan. Except the only way he knew how involved singing and physical affection. Two things he really didn’t feel like doing in front of Eridan’s friend. Plus, he knew basically nothing about Eridan himself, and if he decided to do this they’d be bound together permanently until one of them died. Which may or may not happen sooner than they hope, depending.

What was he supposed to do? Call it off and live as an outcast from his own species – because the Queen by now clearly thought he was dead – or take a chance and maybe play a vital part in taking down the ruthless monarchy he and his people lived under?

“Ah, fuck it.” He sighed and ducked under the water for a moment. He cleared his throat and tried to remember all the ballads and serenades his mother had taught him when she still existed. He chose the first one she ever taught him, and popped back up above the waves. His stomach was churning like a strong current, threatening to sweep away all his courage with it.

“Hey, human.” Eridan’s head lifted so he could look at the siren properly. “Do you trust me?”

“What kinda loaded question is that?” The only way Sollux could describe the face Eridan was making was ‘disgusted’.

“Do you trust me?” He asked again. The other sighed and nodded. “Then come here.”

“What are y’gonna do?” Every step Eridan took across the boat was uncertain, afraid almost. If he wasn’t so nervous Sollux would’ve laughed.

“You _really_ want to kill the Queen? It’s your life’s purpose or whatever? Your destiny?” He wanted to make absolutely sure before he basically bonded them for life.

“She killed my entire family, Sol. If I don’t kill her then this’ll consume me like it did my father.” The human’s eyes seemed to drop a little at the corners, making him look older and more melancholy. The siren in the water took a breath and placed his cold, wet hands on either side of the human’s face.

“…Sol?”

Sollux didn’t answer him in favour of singing. His voice was shaky and a little off-key, but he figured (hoped) it would still preform its task. As a species, sirens haven’t used their song since the days when pirates were all over the seas. They hadn’t really had a reason to, their repopulation was going well and no one was hunting them anymore. Really, they could stand to lose a couple dozen.

“Sol, what’re you doin’?” Sollux kept on singing, Eridan’s questions and worries fading from his face and tension leaking from his shoulders like sand in an hourglass as the siren’s words washed over him like a soft tide. He didn’t even notice went he went over the side, with Sollux’s hands still bracketing his face.

As the siren finished his song, Eridan felt the need for air and began to struggle. Sollux directed his face towards his own and shushed him. In the same melodic voice he used for his song, he told Eridan that ‘everything was alright, just look at me, that’s it. There we go, look at me, everything is okay. You’re okay, I’m okay.’

Sollux tried not to break his concentration by worrying about the fall out, but he told himself that Eridan would thank him later. This was the only way he could get into the city safely. Expelling all the thoughts from his head that he didn’t need, Sollux took in water through the gills on his neck and kissed Eridan.

Karkat, who had been looking on completely dumbfounded from the boat, watched as the two forms underwater suddenly seemed to disappear. When they reappeared, he had to look twice to make sure it was still the creepy siren and Eridan down there.

Because, last time he checked, Eridan did _not_ have a tail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheers if you caught my subtle reference at the beginning - that'll come up later  
> Also [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMTEtDBHGY4) is the song I imagined Sollux singing, if you were wondering.


	6. Transformations and the Time to Act

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoo boy okay  
> not dead - just gonna put that out there  
> this chapter almost had feferi in it but I decided I'm going to put her in somewhere later, maybe within the next chapter or the one after that  
> enjoy

The conscious mind is a strange and fickle thing. People tell themselves they will remember this, or do that later, and store it away in their heads only to forget it in favour of another task within minutes. The brain is constantly working, focusing on too many tasks for humans to even be aware of at any given moment. So taking that muscle, that powerhouse of grey matter, and temporarily shutting it down to rebuild it _really_ fucks shit up in there.

Like, _really_.

Eridan’s conscious mind registered that he was underwater and that Sollux’s hands were still around his face. It registered that Sollux’s _lips were on his own,_ and ever stranger, that he didn’t actually mind.

It felt…nice.

He was a sea captain, married to the sea and his ship. He never found the time for something permanent – just feeble hook-ups that never lasted more than a few hours in ports before he set sail the next morning. He didn’t exactly get cell service on the Pacific. These being his only experience with romance, a tender kiss like this one caught him completely off-guard. He didn’t know what to do or how he was supposed to even try and return it. It ended before he could sort out his thoughts and do something, and he wasn’t that surprised to find he missed the sensation. Whoever Sollux had kissed before him (and didn’t _that_ thought make him jealous) had taught the siren well, it seemed.

“Are you dead?” Sollux voice broke through Eridan’s thoughts and he blinked a few times to bring the world into focus. It wasn’t working, so he touched his face to see if he’d lost his glasses somewhere and remembered he’d taken them off to put on the diving mask earlier – they were still on the boat.

“I ain’t dead.” He said absently, groping around for the side of the boat. When his hands met only open water he looked around for a large white vaguely boat-shaped blob. He and Sollux were 10 feet below the waves, the boat sitting above them like a single cloud in an ever-shifting sea blue sky.

“Okay. Are you mad?” This was the first time Eridan had heard Sollux be anything other than cock-sure and snarky, his head was reeling with all the flip-flopping he’s had to process in the last 5 minutes.

“What, about you kissin’ me? Nah, it was sorta nice. Now lemme go, I need my glasses ‘cause I can’t see shit-all.” Except, when he tried to kick his legs they didn’t want to work right. They felt…oddly numb. He looked down to see what their problem was - ‘ _You’re giving inanimate things personalities again, Eridan,_ ’ – and was relieved that he wasn’t standing up.

“What in the ever-loving mother _fuck is that thing?!”_ Sollux winced as Eridan’s expletives got more and more colourful. “Did you do this? Is this why you kissed me? What the fuck??”

“Look,” Sollux sighed, “You ran out of air tanks and we’re already almost there, and you sounded so determined, and my people have been living under The Witch’s control for too fucking long and – you were my one chance, alright? I did the last thing I can think of and apparently fucked that to hell and back too. I fucking believed in you, dickweed.”

Eridan’s head was still trying to process that Sollux had just been desperate, hopeful, apologetic, resentful and angry all in one sentence. When he finally got through all that and had his priorities sorted out, he was alone. Panic raced through his veins and he whipped his head around, looking for a glint of gold or a flash of something shiny.

Way off in the distance, sitting on a lonely rock, he saw him. He was just a small speck, but his eyes had changed with his body – he could see through all the murk and silt suspended in the water, yards upon yards father than he ever could as a human.

 _As a human_. He wasn’t human anymore, was he? He was a siren now, the bane of his existence. He couldn’t survive on land, couldn’t walk, couldn’t talk properly on land if the gold siren’s lisp was a common thing. He couldn’t command his ship anymore; his crew was probably wondering where the hell he ran off to. It must be mid-afternoon by now, and he left early that morning. McCoy was bound to be worried sick. Would they leave without him?

 _Focus, there are bigger problems right now._ Right, focus. Sollux. He could deal with his crew and any potential mutinies later, his current job was to fix things with his friend. When did they stop being just another resource to each other long enough to become friends? _Focus, dammit_.

Now his only problem was getting over there. He’d seen mermaids on TV as a kid, swimming didn’t look too hard. He just had to…wiggle his tail. A lot. He gave his hips an experimental wiggle and immediately felt stupid when all his new tail did was flop a little. Fuck.

 _Bodies are all made of muscle, you just have to find the muscles in your tail and move them. You can do this. You can do this. Just find the muscles and move them, you can_ do _this._

Eridan opened his eyes and found he was swimming, albeit quite slowly. As long as Sollux didn’t move he should make it over to him just fine. Sollux’s head turned to look at him and he tried to wave, subsequently losing the rhythm he’d worked at with his tail. He fumbled and stopped; dismayed he wasn’t a master at using his own body.

Sollux left his lonely little rock and swam over to the new siren-human. He watched as Eridan tried fruitlessly to get moving again, a soft little out-of-character smile on his face. When Eridan started to turn panicked that he couldn’t move at all, his hands found the other’s shoulders and forced the frantic human-siren to keep still. The gesture settled something in Eridan’s chest and he wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it. Words were zinging through his head, mostly _bond_ and _mate?_ and _calm_.  He tried to ignore them.

“Why won’t this work like I want it to.” He whined.

“Because you have no idea what you’re doing.” Sollux seemed far too smug about all this for Eridan’s liking. “Your friend is getting worried, you should tell him you’re okay. He probably thinks you’re dead.”

“Karkat, yeah.” Eridan ran a hand through his hair, which was waving with the gentle current sweeping past them both. “Can…..can I ever go back? Have legs again, I mean?”

“Through stupidly specific circumstances, yeah. But good luck fulfilling those, so no.” Sollux grabbed Eridan’s hand and pulled him along to the surface. “I’m sorry, by the way. For getting mad. You have every right to be angry with me for this, or whatever. You can punch me or something if you want.”

Eridan rolled his eyes. “You did the only thing you could think of to try and help. Plus that kiss was pretty great, so it almost makes up for it.” And then he punched him on the shoulder.

When their heads popped above water, Karkat’s scowl was their first sight.

“WHAT THE FUCK. I THOUGHT YOU DIED, ASSHOLE. DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG YOU WERE DOWN THERE? 25. FUCKING. MINUTES. 25! I ALMOST WENT IN AFTER YOU. ME, GO IN WATER, AFTER YOUR SORRY ASS. YOU BETTER HAVE A _REAL_ GOOD EXPLANATION, FISH-FUCKER.”

“Nice to see you again too, Kar.” Eridan deadpanned. He cut off Karkat’s next angry rampage with a finger. Momentarily distracted that his hands were _webbed_ , Eridan was startled back to the present by Sollux’s elbow in his side. “Right. Well. I’m a siren now, I guess.”

“You guess?!” Eridan once again stopped Karakt’s enraged rant with a finger.

“Can you hand me my glasses? Thanks. Anyway, I know you’ve got things to do and whatever, but if you want to come along with us you can. You’ll just…stay up here? I can breathe underwater, so I don’t have reason for the divin' tanks anymore.” Eridan ran a hand through his hair as he finally processed the information he was relaying to Karkat.

“Is that your way of telling me to fuck off?” Karkat said as he crossed his arms. To anyone who didn’t know him the gesture looked aggressive, but to Eridan it meant that he was worried for him. Maybe.

“Well…no and yes. No, because you’re my friend and I brought you into this. But yes because there isn’t much that you can do from here. Go or stay, y'can do either.” The new siren silently crossed his fingers that his friend wouldn’t get mad and start yelling again.

“I have to go check on Kankri, he doesn’t do good left alone for so long. You’re welcome for the boat, by the way, asshole.” Karkat shook his head and started up the motor.

“Bye, Kar.” Eridan and Sollux waved as Karkat revved the motor and sped towards the slim line of shore in the distance. They watched until the boat was just a white speck among other white specks.

“So.” Sollux said.

“So.” Eridan parroted.

“Let’s go kill a queen.” Eridan nodded.

They dove under the waves and started swimming.


	7. Princesses and Preparing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not dead, not yet  
> this chapter was kicking my ass and I'm still not completely happy with it - i may go back and change it sometime or i may not  
> today the boys meet fef and i leave ya'll on another cliffhanger

The castle was massive; it was easily taller than any building Eridan had ever seen on land. They city that surrounded its base was bigger – and probably held a bigger population – than any he’d come across that he could recall. He hated how smug Sollux looked when they finally came upon it after a few hours of swimming.

“You _live_ here? Oh wait, I think I see your house.” Eridan pointed to what looked like some kind of chum deposit, where a few sirens were dumping buckets of unidentifiable pink sludge. Sollux’ face soured at the insult and he punched the other in the shoulder. Eridan snickered.

“We need a way to sneak in, the guards She has on duty aren’t spaced out enough to just swim in.” He said, turning serious.

“Why can’t we just swim in?”

“Because _She_ thinks I’m dead and I’ve never seen anyone with your tail colour – you’ll stick out just as badly as you would if you were still a human.” Eridan got sidetracked in the silence that followed Sollux’ statement. They’d talked about everything under the sun on their way here, but he didn’t think he would ever get used to hearing Sollux without his lisp. He would deny it until his dying breath, but he actually…missed it.

“So do we get a disguise? Hide in some trader’s wagon? I’m a pirate, not a spy. All my plans involve barging in and staking claim to everything in sight.”

“That’s a fucking stupid plan. You are going to get killed if you do that.” Sollux deadpanned. Eridan took a deep breath (a strange sensation when you have gills) and blew it out slowly, little bubbles chasing each other up to the surface.

“Do I look like I’m currently following it through? No? Gee golly, you’d almost think _I knew it was a stupid plan._ ” Eridan poured as much sarcasm as he could into his words. “I’m just throwin’ out ideas here, Sol. I don’t see you coming up with any better plans.” Sollux snapped his fingers, the motion not producing any sound at all.

“I have someone who can get us in.” He began to swim away from the castle and the city. Confused, Eridan followed. They swam until they came across a cluster of cuttlefish, intercepted by a few nautili hovering around. In the middle of the cluster another siren was sat on a rock, playing with them. The creatures danced around her fingers and arms, ducking in and out of her long dark hair as if they were playing games with each other. She was laughing, her tail flapping happily and shoulders shaking with mirth.

“Feferi!” The siren looked up at Sollux’ shout and her face brightened. She swam over to the two boys, cuttlefish and nautili trailing after her excitedly.

“Sollux! I thought you were dead!” She hugged him so hard he wheezed and awkwardly patted her on the back. “How did you get off the beach?”

“Fef. Fef, can’t breathe…” She let him go with a quick ‘sorry!’ and waited expectantly for his answer. “I struck a deal with a human, and he pulled me back into the sea.” Feferi gasped, looking around for Sollux’ human. The creatures swimming around made it increasingly difficult to see. Her eyes stopped on Eridan, then slid back to Sollux. Back to Eridan, stopped at Sollux. Her mouth, which used to be in a little ‘o’ shape, slid into a sly, oily grin.

“Oh ho ho,” she chuckled. Eridan couldn’t catch the rest; it was spoken in a tongue he had never heard before. Sollux was looking more and more embarrassed as Feferi went on and he didn’t know how he should feel about that – they were very clearly talking about him. He still couldn’t decide to trust Feferi or not; something about her was putting him off.

“My name is Eridan Ampora.” He thrust his hand towards the new siren, interrupting their conversation. Feferi seemed to pause at his last name, eyes narrowing and lips pursing. She roved her eyes over his body and a look a realization stuck her once she got to his tail. Similarly, Eridan realized why he felt uneasy around Feferi. They both backed away from each other cautiously, like two frightened raccoons who didn’t want to fight.

“You’re _his_ son…” Feferi whispered at the same time Eridan whispered, “ _You …_ ” neither was loud enough for the other to hear. Feferi’s tail was the same pink as the siren who’d taken his brother and the siren that had maimed and drowned his father. Either sirens could change their appearance or Feferi was somehow related to them. Eridan’s tail was the same deep violet Feferi had seen when her mother had come home carrying a huge bloody corpse. It was staining all the water around it vermillion as blood leaked out of a massive wound on its face and shoulders. The only thing she saw that wasn’t mutilated beyond recognition was the deep violet captain’s coat she’d seen on many of her mother’s other victims.

“So Fef,” Sollux began, choosing to ignore the way his two friends were engaged in a fierce staring match, “We need a way into the castle.” Feferi broke her contest with Eridan to stare at Sollux.

“Why? My mother thinks you’re dead, if she finds out you’re not she’ll _really_ kill you this time.”

“Yes, I know, but we really need in there. We have a…mission.”

“We’re planning to kill the queen.” Eridan was never well-known for his subtlety. Feferi’s eyes lit up the way they did when she first saw Sollux and her demeanor towards Eridan did a 180 pirouette.

“I know just how to get you in. Are you ready?”

 

Feferi took the boys to the servant’s entrance in the kitchen. The siren – _princess_ , judging by the way she kept calling the queen ‘mother’ – frequently used this entrance herself so she wouldn’t have to face her mother or her sister. The servants all greeted her when she swam through, not even batting an eye at Sollux or Eridan. They could not give less of a shit who the young princess brought into the castle, so long as they were still able to do their jobs.

Eridan marveled at the décor in the hallway; various nautical items placed on pedestals and multiple fuchsia tapestries depicting the queen conquering and ruling, among more pleasant things. They swam down numerous hallways, hardly seeing anyone except themselves and the occasional guard. They eventually stopped in front of a door that looked like all the others, except with two guards posted outside. Both their tails were ultramarine, scales shining in the dull light from the phosphors hung periodically on the walls.

“You can both take a few hours off.” The princess brushed them off with a careless wave of her hand. The guards nodded and swam down the hall. Feferi opened the door and gestured the boys inside. Her bed, which was in the middle of the room, was a large seashell with sea moss for a mattress. She had a woven seaweed blanket and a collection of sea sponges for pillows – some of which were scattered on the floor in no particular order.

While Eridan was busy inspecting her vanity, Feferi had dug out a floor plan of the castle, a guard roster, her mother’s daily schedule and a squid-ink pen. She spread them on a small table she brought over from the corner of the room and took up the pen, ready to write.

“Mother doesn’t like paying sirens so we only have about 20 guards on duty at any one time. Two outside my door, two outside Meenah’s, two outside both sets of her doors, two guarding the bridge and main entrance and four on-duty next to her throne. The other six act as the city’s police but do a shitty job of it.” Feferi put x’s on the floor plan everywhere she said a guard was located.

“So you’re saying we’re going to have a hell of a time trying to get to her.” Sollux said unhappily. The princess nodded. Eridan swam over to the table and looked over the floor plan with them.

“There’s a second entrance to her throne room, over here,” she marked the spot with a circle. “The servants use it to serve food and remove the bodies. She never pays attention to it because she doesn’t like acknowledging the servants. The guards look every time though, so using this might be a little more difficult than just coming through and shooting her.

“Plus there’s my sister Meenah, who is always with mother when she’s in the throne room.” The three of them continued plotting and thinking inside Feferi’s room, marking up and scratching out the floor plan until the walls were starting to blur into each other.

Outside, one of the guards the young princess had dismissed was listening in. He didn’t like the queen as much as the next siren but if there was a threat against her life then there was one against his, too. Which meant he had to report it.

The guard, whose name was Equius of all things, swam towards the queen’s throne room. Like he knew she would be, she was sat upon her golden throne.

Her double-ended trident clasped in her hand and her monstrous mound of flowing black hair swaying in the current behind her, she painted an imposing picture. Meenah, her daughter and the heir to her kingdom, sat on the smaller throne next to her. The younger was twirling one of her long braids idly, with one leg propped up on the arm of her throne. They both looked up when Equius entered. He tried to make himself as small as he could under their combined gazes.

“Yes?” The Queen prompted when the trembling guard said nothing.

“Your Majesty, your Greatness, your Excellency may You reign forever, I have something to report…”


	8. Demon Queens and Dodgy Deals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been too long since I've posted a chapter tbh  
> anyway here's a new chapter for ya'll - I'm really excited to write the whole 'get-together' part so maybe that'll push me to write the next one quicker   
> meet the queeny

“I said you could have a few hours off, Equius. Really, I – oh.” Whatever Feferi was going to say died in her throat as she opened the door. It was not just Equius behind it, oh no.

The queen stood just behind the guard, glowering. Her own daughter, _plotting to kill her_! The nerve of some sirens. No one spoke for a few moments, the silence hanging thick in the air like brine.

“Fef? Everythin’ okay?” It was Eridan who spoke first. He and Sollux couldn’t see through the door from where they were crowded around the table; they couldn’t even see Feferi’s face as she was on the opposite side. They saw her fingers turn from a pale grey to stark white as she gripped the edge of the door in what they assumed was fear. The boys shared an anxious glance.

“Mm, so _this_ is where the rebels meet up, is it?” The silky voice of the queen floated in through the open door. The other two sirens felt their hearts drop to their fins and the blood drain from their faces. How did she know? Was it a servant? They’d only talked about their plans once they were inside Feferi’s room, and she assured them her door was the only way in; there was no servant’s entrance.

“And what’s this? Solluxander, what a _pleasure_.” The queen’s grin was bordering on predatory as she turned to face Sollux. “I guess I’ll just have to try harder to kill you next time, hm?”

“You _know_ each other?” Eridan spit out, his brain doing a 180 from ‘ _holy shit I’m supposed to kill her?’_ to _‘She knew you by name, what the fuck is that?_ ’

“Oh we know each other _very_ well, don’t we my dear spy?” The queen purred, running a dainty finger down Sollux’ cheek to his chin. His eye twitched from having to suppress his grimace. “Too bad you proved yourself useless in the end.”

“That information was _valuable_ and we both know it.” A small spark appeared in Sollux’ eyes and he turned to glare down the queen of all sirens. He then realized his mistake in both his act of treason and his act of admitting he was her spy. He cast a nervous glance at Eridan out of the corner of his eye. The other siren looked heartbroken and furious, his face twitching between the two of them.

And then recognition spread across his features.

“You.” He whispered.

“Me.” The queen absentmindedly answered. She was too busy looking at their plans to kill her on the table.

“I remember you! You took my father!” The queen granted Eridan a cursory glance, taking in his facial features and his tail colour. However, once she got to his tail, her face split into a satisfactory smile and she cackled. Eridan became even more angry at hearing her cackle, his thirst for revenge welling up to the surface and making his fingers itch to be clasped around her throat.

“So, you’re _her_ son are you? It’s nice to finally meet you. Did you know I knew your Father? Your step-mother too, although our time together was short.” She cackled again. “I say I knew your Father, but I did so much more than just know him.”

“You’re lying.”

“Oh, honey. As much as I love to lie, I’m not. Did you know your older brother is half siren? Oh don’t look at me like that, I was young and foolish. Just like you three, faking your death and plotting to kill me. Did you really think you could actually pull it off?”

“We’re still going to, you old sea-hag.” Feferi butt into the conversation, as angry as Eridan and twice as ready to thrown down with her mother. The queen just rolled her eyes; it seemed this wasn’t the first time she’d heard that particular sentiment from her youngest daughter.

“Mm-hm, you do that, honey.” She turned her attention onto Eridan and Sollux. “I’ll give you boys a choice, since I’m feeling nice today. Work for me, or spend the rest of your lifespans rotting in my dungeon. Pick quickly, this offer isn’t meant to last.”

“…what kinda work?” Eridan tentatively asked. He needed time for the queen to forget his plans and to maybe try to build up some trust, get in close first and go for the kill later. The queen clapped her hands once and grinned.

“Well my fisher-prince, you would be given your legs back and made into my personal pirate – sailing my seas and taking whatever gold and precious gems you can find. Sollux would be given another chance and would be your deckhand or your chore-boy. Both of you would need to report directly to me weekly.”

The two exchanged a look, trying to hash it out with only their eyes. Finally, they turned back to the queen. Eridan stuck his hand out.

“When do we start?”

-

Equius was the one to officially introduce them to their new positions. He led Eridan and Sollux towards the surface, to the nearest docks. Eridan had requested that he sail with his own ship and crew or he doesn’t sail at all. He wouldn’t tell them that they now work for the same demoness who killed their previous captain, or where most of their loot was going to go, however.

“Take these, you’ll need them to get your legs back. They only last about 8 days, so if you don’t check in with Her Highness - may She reign forever - every week then you’ll be forced back into the ocean. I’d drink them then crawl onto the sand, if I remember correctly one of you has…issues…with beaches.” The blue-tailed siren gave to boys two little vials, each containing a thick ruby coloured liquid.

With a curt nod, he swam back towards the castle.

-

What they didn’t realize about getting legs was that if they weren’t wearing anything as sirens, then they wouldn’t be wearing anything as humans, either. Eridan, embarrassed at being naked in front of someone, rushed to cover himself with the nearest object – a few boughs of nearby sea kale. Sollux however, was too entranced by his new human anatomy to bother looking at Eridan.

“What the fuck is this?” He blurted, afraid to touch it. His lisp had returned; Eridan felt a strange happiness at hearing it again.

“It’s a dick, an’ it’s indecent to have it out in public. Here,” He tossed a few leaves of sea kale over and stood up. “We need to find some clothes, before anyone sees us and gets the wrong idea.”

“What’s wrong with the wrong idea?” Sollux’ voice was small, like he both was and wasn’t trying to be heard at the same time. Eridan shot him with a curious look.

“You _want_ people t’think we fucked on the beach? There are much better places to fuck, Sol. C’mon, I can see my ship from here.” With a slow smile, Sollux realized that Eridan’s only problem was that they were on a beach, not that people would assume they were together. Feeling very satisfied all of a sudden, he picked up the sea kale, stood up and followed his new captain.


	9. Watching and Waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that as of the last chapter, I've passed my original 12k word goal. whoa.  
> anyway, this chapter took way too long to write, and I literally couldn't resist the ending I left it at lmao  
> We're comin' to a close, folks. But the S.S.Erisol is just gettting started ;)

Sollux regretted laughing at Eridan when he tried to swim.

Like, _really_ regretted it.

Because as it turns out: walking? Just as fucking difficult.

“C’mon Sol, just take my hand already.” Eridan rolled his eyes as Sollux yet again refused help and foolishly tried to walk on his own. He could take a few steps, but he was shaky and couldn’t place his feet well enough to balance on them. He really fucking missed his tail.

Eridan, much to Sollux’ chagrin and displeasure, got up out of the water and just walked away like it was natural. He supposed it was; Eridan had been a human first, after all. Doesn’t mean he couldn’t envy him because of it.

“Oh my good lord Sol, I’m gonna pick you up and fuckin’ carry you to the ship.” Sollux shot the other a murderous glare but he was unaffected. Eridan walked right over, hoisted the other boy over his shoulder like he weighed nothing, and began the trek to his ship. “Quit wigglin’ you goddamn guppy, or I’ll drop you.”

Sollux was _not_ sulking, fuck you.

Thankfully for them, _The Navis_ was docked on the edge of one of the many piers littering the shoreline. And it looked like the crew was out on the town – the lights were all off and the deck was empty. Eridan carried Sollux aboard and made his way down to his quarters for some clothes.

“You’re a bit taller than I am, so I think Cro’s old shit might fit you. Here,” he tossed Sollux a white shirt with the Ampora crest in a deep violet, which landed square on the ex-siren’s face, “try that on.” He also tossed a pair of clean boxers and some loose-fitting jeans. Eridan pulled out a set of clothes for himself and began to dress.

Sollux tried not to stare, he really did, but it seemed he just couldn’t look away. Like Eridan’s skin was a magnet, specific to attracting Sollux’ gaze. He told himself he was just watching how a natural human moved, so he could take notes. Scientific research, most definitely. Maybe he could research how humans bruised near the neck when exposed to certain stimuli…

“Sol?” His ‘specimen’s’ voice thrust him out of his head and back into the tiny wooden cabin. “Not that I don’t mind the view an’ all, but you should get dressed. I can hear the crew comin’ back.” Suddenly aware he was still naked, Sollux rushed to put on the clothes he was given. He had a bit of trouble trying to get the boxers and pants on – he had to fix them before they left the cabin because he’d put them both on backwards.

Before they went above deck, Eridan took them on a detour to the captain’s quarters, where he told Sol to wait outside. He came back out seconds later clad in a violet pirate captain’s coat with a high collar. He was doing up the buttons on a similarly coloured waistcoat as continued towards the main deck.

“I don’t know how the crew’ll take me bein’ back like this. They might think I’m dead, they might think I just went out and had some fun for a day or so. I didn’t exactly tell them I was leavin’. If they ask, you’re our new deckhand. Duke’ll be relieved to see you.” Eridan stepped through the door and the two were bombarded with sunlight. Several men of varying ages and heights were just climbing onto the deck, all talking animatedly between themselves.

It went dead silent when they noticed Eridan and Sollux.

-

“Cap’n?”

It was Alan who broke the silence. He stepped forward like he couldn’t believe his captain was really standing there, in front of him. Sollux half expected him to reach out and touch Eridan, just to make sure.

“Hope ya’ll’ve been good while I was away.” said Eridan simply. Sollux could see his anxiety in the set of his shoulders, the way his hands – clasped together at the small of his back in a loose parade rest – wouldn’t stay still, in the way he swayed slightly even without a breeze. His smirk was nothing more than a front he was putting on so his crew wouldn’t worry where he’d been. Sollux had seen it all working as a spy – guards who looked stiff as stone but would crumble if someone so much as tugged their sleeve.

“We thought ya died, Cap’n. Where ya been?”

“Oh, around. That don’t matter too much. Let’s get this hunk a’ wood out on the water.” Sollux stood back as the crew began to scramble around; untying ropes, loosening sails, one climbing up to the crow’s nest with a telescope strapped to his back. No one seemed to notice him, which he was just fine with.

Until someone _did_ notice him.

“Hey! Who’re you?” They were a lot taller and a lot more muscular than Sollux has ever seen someone be. They towered over him, gaze threatening to kill him just as much as the pistol slowly being cocked was.

“I’m the new deckhand?” Curse his voice for being so weak! The crew member snorted and raised the pistol.

“And I’m Mary Poppins. No one sails for free on _The Navis_.” A hand on their arm stopped them.

“Barnes, we talked about this.” Sollux didn’t recognize them either, where the hell was Eridan when he needed him? “Let the kid speak before you shoot him full of holes. Go on, boy. Speak.”

“I’m not a _dog_.” It came out before he could stop it. He clapped a hand over his mouth and silently cursed himself even more. He tried again. “Eridan hired me as a deckhand.”

“There, wasn’t so hard, was it?” The second crew member was talking to Barnes, who looked quite put-off at not being able to shoot someone. “I’ll find the Cap’n and get him to verify you. Come with me. Barnes,” said man didn’t give any indication that he’d heard the other. “get back to work.”

The crew member took Sollux across the deck, weaving between people doing their jobs like a snake through grass. He didn’t stumble when the boat finally pushed off, signalling to Sollux that he had more years on the sea under his belt than it looked like. Sollux himself had to grab whatever was nearest to him to keep upright. He was meant to be _in_ the sea, not on it.

“McCoy, how’s things?” Eridan turned from Alan and the ship’s wheel to address McCoy, and noticed Sollux trailing along behind him. “Oh, hey Sol. I meant t’bring you up here before we set sail; the deck is the worst place fer a newcomer. Ya get trampled in all the hullabaloo.”

“That’s all I needed to hear. I’ll be below decks if anyone slices their hand open again.” McCoy took his leave with an elegant nod of his head. With just Sollux to see, Eridan deflated.

“Never run a ship, Sol. I love it t’death, but it’ll bring me to an early grave if I ain’t careful.”

“Do I actually have to work? I just learned how to walk a few hours ago.” Sollux asked. Eridan laughed. “What? It’s not _that_ funny, asshole.”

“A’ course ya have to work! Ain’t keepin’ ya here if y’don’t. No one sails for free on _The Navis_.”

“So I’ve heard.” Sollux rolled his eyes. “What about the Queen? We _work_ for her now, how are we supposed to kill her?” Eridan cut him a glare, then glanced around to see if any crew member had heard.

“Keep yer voice down; if there’s anythin’ the crew shouldn’t know, _it’s that_.” Eridan grabbed Sollux by his upper arm and dragged him to the very back of the top deck. “We have to go back and get that stupid potion in a week, until then we’ll just have to wait. In the meantime, I’m gonna make sure the Ampora name wasn’t sullied while I was away.”

“Alright, fine. I can deal with waiting. Just promise me you won’t suddenly turn yourself over to _Her_ side, okay?”

“I promise. If I ever do that you have my permission to knock me out of it.” The two of them walked back towards the ship’s wheel, where Alan was currently consulting the maps. “Go find Duke, he’ll give you a run-down of yer new responsibilities.”

It was going to be a long week.

-

By day 4, Sollux had adjusted to being in motion constantly, and hardly threw up as much as his first day. He’d also pretty well mastered his job of tying certain knots, cleaning, and sometimes cooking (under strict supervision from Barnes). Ad to his great relief, he and Eridan had stopped laying down compliments and conversation pieces, then immediately ‘forgetting’ about them.

Because Sollux finally worked up the balls to confront Eridan about it.

They both pretended not to notice all the looks the crew was giving them when they were together. (That plan fell apart when Eridan caught some of them sniggering at Sollux, who was looking quite ruffled and was wearing the captain’s coat. They got less looks after that.

Day 6 was uneventful; the crew waiting around on deck for the ship to sail into port. Duke and Sollux were up in the crow’s nest, Eridan standing by Alan with his hands clasped in a loose parade rest. He brought one of his hands around to rub at his eyes and hopefully massage some moisture back into them, when he noticed it.

The tiniest violet scale beginning to peek through his skin. He pulled up his sleeve to reveal dozens just like it, almost as numerous as his freckles. A quick brush of his hand against his cheek revealed a few poking out high on his cheekbones, hopefully still unnoticeable. In a moment of panic, he nearly flipped off his handle. The awareness that he was surrounded by avid siren-haters/killers brought him back to himself. _That is a severely fuckin’ bad idea, do not, Ampora, do. fuckin’. not._

“Deckhand!” If Sollux was having the same problem, they needed a solution; _fast_. He saw Sollux’ head turn to face him, black hair blowing into his eyes. He swiped at it with an impatient hand. “Report down to me, I have a job for you.”

Ignoring the snickers from some of his crew, Eridan strode towards the door to the lower deck. He heard Sollux drop from the rope ladder and heard his footsteps growing louder. He led the other to the captain’s office – a place he rarely touched since his Father’s passing – and locked the door.

“Sol, look at your hands and tell me what you see.” Thinking he was in trouble somehow, Sollux hurriedly inspected his hands.

“Oh fuck,” he breathed, noticing the little yellow scales appearing here and there. Like Eridan, they were also scattered about his forearms.

“That don’t even begin to describe this. We’re still half a day or so from port, and I can’t hide _violet fuckin’ scales_ like you can hide your yellow ones. And we still don’t have a solid plan to murder the fishqueen. ‘Oh fuck’ is a generous understatement.”

“Why wasn’t I expecting this? Why would I expect anything other than this stupid bullshit from Her? She’s probably laughing her ass off on that dumbass gold throne of hers.” Sollux drove a hand into his hair, tugging at it in a nervous tick he picked up from Eridan – who was doing the same thing across from him.

“Fuck, okay. So we’re on the verge of becoming fish-people again, on a boat chock-full a siren killers. We don’t have a proper plan, and our only ally is miles outta reach.”

“Because that’s helping!”

“Shuddup, Sol! I’m tryin’ to straighten things out inside my head! I don’t see you coming up with any better ideas!” Eridan had both hands tugging at his hair now, a few red strands drifting to the floor as if a very small barber were trying to give him a haircut, strand by strand.

“She’s going to have guards when we have to go and report to her, probably at least two. Meenah and Fef are wildcards – who knows where they’ll be. We need a plan, we need a plan, we need a plan…” Sollux continued repeating ‘we need a plan’ like it would help them come up with one faster.

“We can…shit do we have any jewelry?” Hands held suspended in front of his chest, Eridan turned to look at Sollux hopefully. The other could see the beginnings of a plan forming behind his forehead.

“Jewelry like how?” Wary not to get too excited, Sollux regarded the captain with suspicion.

“Necklaces, rings, bangles, that kinda shit? Preferably gold? I noticed she loved wearin’ shiny shit when I saw her last.”

“Yeah I think I saw a few of those when we were digging it up. What’s your plan?” Eridan rubbed his hands together and released an excited breath.

“Okay, so here’s what we’re gonna do…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do u hate me yet lmfao


	10. Fishes and Finales

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was supposed to be the last chapter dammit
> 
> anyway have the second to last chapter because i felt if i made this any longer i'd combust  
> also @lisa hey lmao
> 
> SHIT I ALMOST FORGOT  
> there's death in this chapter, also the mention of fish eating a corpse

Eridan had a dream that night, so vivid that he couldn’t tell if it was real or not until he woke up in cold sweat. He glanced across the room at Sollux, who had the blankets up to his chin and was undisturbed. His eyes found their way to his door, still closed and still locked. Good. Just in case, he pinched his arm.

No, he wasn’t dreaming still. A relieved sigh tumbled past his lips as he deflated against the mattress.

“Rough dream?” Eridan nearly jumped out of his skin when Sollux spoke up. He thought he was asleep? “Only been awake for a few minutes.” Oh.

“Yeah. Yeah, rough dream.” He chuckled humorlessly. “Go back t’sleep, I’ll be okay.”

“I’m sure. Wanna talk about it?” Eridan waved him off with a murmured ‘I’m fine’ and settled down onto his pillow. “G’night, Captain.”

“Night, Sol.” The day he’d tell Sollux he dreamt about him was the day the sea swallowed him whole.

-

_“You sure about this?”_

_“Yeah. Let’s do this.” They pushed open the doors and were graced with the sight of The Queen, sitting high on her throne. Meenah was at her side, Cronus at her feet in chains. Eridan took a deep breath and squared his shoulders._

_“Ah, my little sailors. How was this week’s loot?” The Queen’s voice sent a shiver down his spine, but he pressed on. He couldn’t back out now._

_“Plentiful, my Queen.” Sollux replied. He rattled off a bit of the inventory he’d been completing all week. “In fact, we even brought you some samples so you could see for yourself.” At that, Eridan opened a bag filled with bangles, bracelets, gold chains and jewels. The Queen leaned forward, interested. She snapped her heavily ringed fingers and two guards swam up, pushing Eridan and Sollux closer to her throne._

_“I have this one specifically, that I think you’ll especially like.” Eridan dug around in the bag and tugged out a beautiful gold necklace, with little pink jewels hanging off at regular intervals. “May I?” With a nod, Eridan was standing behind the Queen, necklace in hand._

_This was it. This was the moment he’d been dreaming of since his mother went overboard. If he wasn’t underwater, his palms would be sweating. But, just before he could pull and complete his plan, the Queen snapped her fingers and pointed to Sollux, who was showing Meenah a different necklace in silver. Guards were suddenly surrounding he and Sollux, spears held to their throats._

_“Just in case you try something fishy, my dear. Equius, grab me a mirror.” Said guard bowed, retrieved a hand-mirror and handed it to Her Majesty. She looked at the necklace like she was sizing it up for a fight, scrutinizing every detail. Eridan closed the clasp and stepped back. He could feel his plan crumbling around him, and he couldn’t do anything._

_“Well?” He hoped to whatever God was listening that his voice wasn’t shaking._

_The Queen hummed, turning her head this way and that, making the light coming from the lamps in the room play off the jewels. “You said you have a bagful, what else is there?”_ ‘Bitch,’ _Eridan thought. Outwardly, he nodded and brought out the matching earrings. The Queen sighed, not sounding sad at all. “Sorry, boys. I’ve got eleven of these in my jewelry box. Guards, you know what to do.”_

_The last thing Eridan saw was Sollux’ astonished face as the spear broke through his chest. A cloud of red started to leak through and that was when he woke up._

_-_

The next morning, Eridan left a note on the outside of the Captain’s Quarters that he wasn’t to be disturbed unless the ship was sinking. He and Sollux were going over the inventory, and reviewing their plan once more. Eridan wouldn’t let his dream become a reality.

“We’ve got these? They have pink jewels and a pretty sturdy chain. There’s a slightly less spectacular silver one, if Meenah is in the room. But I don’t think she will be; before we left I sent a message to FF about taking care of her sister.” Sollux was showing Eridan rough sketches of the necklaces he was talking about, looking for his input.

“Yeah, they’ll do fine.” Eridan had his boots up on the desk and was leaning back on the chair.

“You’re not even paying attention, asshole. Would it kill you to take this a little more seriously?” Sollux slammed his hands on the desk, startling Eridan and toppling the chair. The Captain righted himself angrily.

“Take it seriously? _Take it seriously?_ Are you joking?” Eridan threw his hands in the air, bringing them back down to tug at his hair anxiously. “Sollux, we could _die_ down there, and no one would know. We’d disappear. Everyone in my family would be dead. Your people wouldn’t get their justice. If we fail, which I remind you is the likelier possibility here, then what do we accomplish?” His hands dropped from his hair and he spread his fingers wide. “Nothing! Not a damn fucking thing would be different.”

“You think I don’t know all of that?” The ex-siren crossed his arms, fury dancing in the light in his eyes.

“I never said that. But Sol, this is big. Bigger than I think you realize, and that’s _terrifying_.” Eridan’s arms crossed, but more out of insecurity than anger. “I…”

“What? You what, have second thoughts? Want to back out?” Seeing Eridan suddenly so anxious and…worried? Was driving Sollux’ rage through the roof. If the Captain was backing out, he’d surely kill him and then the Queen just to spite his ghost. He’d worked hard to get here and he wasn’t about to turn tail and run. He could kill the Queen on his own if he had to.

“No, I…” One of Eridan’s hands took off his glasses and the other pinched the bridge of his nose. He sighed. “I don’t want to lose you. That’s what my dream was about last night. You died. A guard ran you clean through with a spear, and I couldn’t do anything to save you. We failed, and I lost you.”

“Me, too.” All the heat that was in Sollux’ voice before was gone, melted away just as quick as it had boiled up. “That’s why I was awake. We didn’t even make it to the throne before she had guards on us. And it didn’t end there. I saw countless versions of the same thing: you dying.”

“Hey Sol,” Eridan grabbed one of Sollux’ hands to both occupy his and to get them to stop shaking, “When this is all over, if we make it out okay…”

“ _When_ we make it out okay, you mean.” Sollux smiled. Eridan shakily returned it.

“Yeah. When we make it out okay…I wanna take a break from sailing. I know a nice port city that I think you’ll love and a friend there owes me a favour. We could stay there a while, long as you want, just you n’ me.” If his hands weren’t holding onto Sollux’, Eridan would be playing with his fingers, trying to dispel all the nervous energy building in his gut. The captain looked up sharply when Sollux started laughing.

“Is that your way of asking me on a date? I’ve been courted better by a seahorse!” Embarrassed and slightly angry, a deep crimson blush spread like smooth butter over the young Ampora’s cheeks. He was about to throw open the door and storm out, when Sollux’ forehead gently touched his own. “Of course I’ll go with you. That’ll be our something to live for.” The way the ex-siren was looking at him made him feel like he was staring straight through him, down to the deepest parts of his being. Eridan decided to look at Sollux’ cheeks instead, where he could count all the little yellow scales popping up here and there.

“Wait, Sol, your eyes…” His eyes flicked back up to the other’s, and saw that his pupils were changing. A milky film was already starting to form, probably making it harder to see. He could only guess what his looked like by now. “I don’t think we’ll make it to tomorrow as humans.”

“No, I don’t think we will.” Sollux agreed. He pushed off from the desk and peeped out the door. “My legs are starting to hurt, and I can already feel scales popping up on my hips. We need to get into the water.” Eridan nodded, joined Sollux beside the door.

“But first, inventory.”

“What? We’re about to turn back into sirens and you want to work? Is there saltwater in your brain?”

“No dumbass, the jewelry! Once we’re in the water we won’t be able to get back on the ship. Which is still full of lethal siren-killers. We should go.” They checked a second time to make sure the hallway was clear, and then took off for the loot room.

-

Feferi swam the halls of her mother’s palace, looking in every room she passed for her sister, Meenah. She’d lived too long (about 90 years, give or take) in this place and she’d witnessed too many innocent people get killed just ‘ _because it’s politics, dear. Lighten up!’_ Her mother made her sick, and she couldn’t wait for Sollux and Eridan to kill her.

But first she had to take care of Meenah.

“Miss Feferi, I must advise that you slow down,” Equius called after her, trying so hard to do his job. He could get killed if he doesn’t, after all. “It’s dangerous to be swimming this fast near your family heirlooms!”

“It’s fine, Equius!” Feferi yelled back after slamming a door to yet _another_ empty room. Where the shell was her sister? “Equius, do you by any chance know where Meenah is?”

“Miss Meenah is currently in the throne room with Her Majesty, your Mother, may She reign.” Feferi Sighed, releasing little bubbles from her gills. They floated up to the ceiling like children playing tag and popped. Having thrown her head back purely to be dramatic, Feferi stopped and watched the spot where they popped for a moment before dashing off again.

She couldn’t wait until _she_ was on the throne.

-

“Has anyone seen the Captain today?” Davies received a chorus of ‘no’s as an answer.

“I saw a note on the door to his office earlier, didn’t read it though. Usually means ‘fuck off I’m working’.” Barnes said as he rolled a barrel to sit with the rest of the collection. They were toting barrels of food and cloth to the next port in return for gold and a few barrels for themselves.

“Do you know if it’s still there?” Davies asked, already heading towards the door to the lower deck. Barnes shrugged and tipped the barrel upright. Once he reached the door to the Captain’s office, Davies looked for said note. There was a paper stuck to the door using one of the little knives Eridan kept in his boot, and scrawled in his slightly wavy handwriting was ‘ _I’ll be gone for a day or so. -E_ ’.

“Guess that means I’m in charge for a while.” Davies muttered. He briefly wondered where his Captain was disappearing off to so often lately, but remembered their new ‘crewmember’ and chuckled. Yeah, he knew _exactly_ where Eridan would be right now.

The First Mate laughed to himself quietly, shook his head, and went back above deck, whistling the tune of a merry sea shanty. It was about time Eridan found someone, he thought.

-

Down on the beach and under an old dock, Sollux and Eridan sat together and waited. Neither had proper gills yet so breathing underwater was as difficult as it was to breathe on land as their air systems changed and stung. Eridan had his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms crossed, resting on them. Sollux opted to have his feet in the water, liking the feeling of the waves between his toes.

“We seemed to change so fast on the _Navis_. Now it feels like it’s going twice as slow.” Eridan commented, one hand playing with a few smooth pebbles between them. They clinked lightly as he dropped one on the other.

“I think our bodies are saving their energy. It seems like making a tail from two legs would be taxing. It does hurt like a sonovabitch though. Your insults should take notes.” The ex-siren threw a smirk at Eridan over his shoulder. His lisp was coming back and doing things to Eridan that he didn’t fully understand or want to admit. He also would rather die before he admitted that he _missed_ said lisp. Eridan stuck his tongue out at Sollux. “Wow, real mature. You win this year’s maturity award. Congratulations.”

“Says the guy pickin’ fun at my insults. Mum used t’tell me that meant you’re jealous.” The mention of Eridan’s mother made Sollux pause for a moment. He’d known him for a little over a week and he’d rarely talked about his parents, except for the whole ‘revenge’ vendetta. Kill him for being curious.

“What was she like? Your mother.” He asked, shuffling up on the sand so he was sitting equal. Eridan’s smile was bittersweet, and Sollux guessed he was replaying a memory of her in his head.

“Her favourite colour was blue. It’s why she lived life on the sea. She’d take us – Cronus an’ I – out at night after Father had fallen asleep and we’d sit in the crow’s nest and stargaze. She told us stories about the constellations, and how you could use them to find your way around the sea. It was only after she died that I got a proper lesson in that, when Father was training me to take over as Captain.”

“You didn’t even describe what she looked like and she already sounds beautiful.” Sollux said reverently. Eridan laughed quietly and smiled at him. One of his eyes was already completely black, the other still it’s normal hickory colour. A thin film was covering both eyes. “I see where you got it from.” The eyes Sollux was looking at widened and he took a second to actually think about what he just said. “Uh.”

“That was adorable Sol,” Eridan chuckled. Sollux pulled a face and lightly flicked his nose.

“I’m not adorable. I’m handsome. Devilishly attractive. Hard to resist.” He puffed out his chest and straightened his spine, tipping his chin up and posing like a magazine model. Eridan laughed louder and tugged him down onto the sand, throwing a leg over to straddle his stomach and keep him pinned.

“All those looks ain’t mean nothin’ if you can’t fight.” He said. As a siren, all of Sollux’ most-used muscles were in his lower body and stomach. His arms were basically grey noodles that he used to grab things like shells and coral and fish. Of course, Eridan only knew that his arms were useless. “Give up?” The human asked while the human under him was trying to push him off.

“Not at all,” Sollux returned. With a carefully timed twist of his hips, their positions were flipped and Eridan was the one getting sand in his hair, which he complained about. “You _do_ know how much muscle it takes to move a fuckin _fishtail_ don’t you?”

“Well I do now, ass.” The captain rolled them so he was once again on top. Annoyed that he could be rolled that easily, Sollux put himself on top. This caused them to start wrestling in the sand, trying to pin the other down and claim his victory. They were kicking up quite a bit of sand in their struggle, and had the dock been active they surely would’ve been spotted and sent to the government.

When they’d finally tired themselves out, neither was on top. Sollux was for a brief moment, but relented and flopped down onto the sand; exhausted. Having your respiratory system caught between gills and lungs was a bitch. The two of them had thankfully ended up close to where they were originally sitting, their burlap bag full of jewelry still there.

“Think we can breathe underwater yet?” Eridan panted, his hand reaching out to grab for the bag.

“Only one way to find out I guess.” Sollux responded. He slowly dragged himself up from the sand and own into the water. The chill of the sea felt amazing on his flushed skin, and he sighed as he sunk lower under the water level. He stopped when his gills were under; just his head peeking up from out of the water.

“Can you breathe?” Eridan asked. Sollux shrugged, his shoulders coming above water for a second then disappearing again, before plugging his nose with his hand. After a minute or so, he let it go and coughed. Salt water sprayed over his hand and stung his throat.

“Almost…” He choked out between coughs.

“Another hour or so then,” Eridan decided as Sollux came out and sat beside him.

-

After coming up with some shoddy excuse to get her sister out of the throne room, Feferi led Meenah to her room. She claimed that Meenah’s braids were coming out and they looked too loose and they needed to be redone. Meenah, surprisingly, had agreed and followed her sister to her room. While Feferi was searching for her venus comb shell Meenah sat in front of her sister’s vanity and started to undo her braids.

“I think I’ll try fishtail braids this time, Meenah.” Feferi commented as she swam over. She took her sister’s other braid and skillfully undid it. “Jesus, you have so much hair.” The younger siren started to run the shell through her sister’s hair.

“Not as much as mom though.” Meenah said, relaxing at the feeling of the comb going through her hair. Because she never took out her braids unless they were getting redone, her hair was wavy and in sections. If you looked at it from an angle, it looked like her hair was a raging sea, rough waves threatening to sink even the toughest of ships.

Mentally, Feferi was preparing herself. She was about to literally stab her sister in the back. Could she really do it? They used to be so close, until their mother decided Meenah was old enough to learn to rule. Or kill really, because their mother didn’t see a difference between the two. Physically, she just kept brushing. If her hand slipped and somehow drove the comb between her sister’s shoulder blades, well. No one was around to see.

Feferi twisted the comb and let the former heir to the siren throne fall limp on her vanity.

Her cuttlefish were hungry, and who was she to deny them a perfectly good meal?

-

Several feet below the water, Eridan and Sollux could finally breathe properly through their gills. They had to take turns carrying the bag; it was heavier than they thought it would be, what loaded with all the gold and jewels they’d need later.

Just before they reached the siren city, a cuttlefish swam up to Sollux and seemed to speak to him. Even stranger to Eridan, he thanked it and petted its little tentacles before it swam off again.

“Meenah’s dead.” Sollux said simply. His voice had the tone of someone who wasn’t feeling much of anything.

“Holy shit.” Eridan bubbled, nearly losing his grip on the bag. Thank god he didn’t, as it would’ve sunk faster than a stone, and their plan along with it.

“Yeah. I thought she wouldn’t be able to do it, but I guess I was wrong. Kudos to FF.” Sollux seemed to slow down a bit, then he shuddered and picked up his speed once more. He looked more confident than he had thirty seconds ago when the cuttlefish came by. Eridan pushed away the thoughts that whizzed through his head, all screaming ‘ _mate comfort he’s in pain make him feel better mate pain comfort mate_ ’.

They came upon the siren city and found Feferi sitting once again in a cloud of her precious cuttlefish. Slightly warier this time after hearing the news of Meenah, Eridan spoke up first.

“Hey Fef,” he called. The molluscs parted to show the princess’ smiling face.

“Eridan! Sollux! Welcome back!” She greeted them both with a hug, then pulled back and turned serious. “My mother is in the throne room. Are you ready?”

“No.” Both boys responded at the same time.

“Well, sort of.” Eridan reconsidered his answer. “I just hope I can do it, because there won’t be any second chances. If we don’t kill her, she _will_ kill us, and that’s sort of nerve-wracking.”

“Hey. We’re _going_ to kill her, no questions. If you chicken out, I’ll finish the job.” Sollux punched Eridan lightly on the shoulder.

“I won’t chicken out, I ain’t no 6-year-old anymore.”

“Boys.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“Boys!”

“Yeah well if I’m 6, that makes you 3!”

“BOYS.” Feferi’s yell startled them both, and they turned to her with wide eyes. “Are you done?”

“Yes ma’am.” They replied. Both had the strange thought that angering Feferi would cause them to end up similar to Meenah. The cuttlefish seemed to know they were having these thoughts, and the school seemed to swim just that much closer.

“We can take the servant’s entrance again; they won’t say anything.” The princess tried to led the two towards the side of the palace, but they stopped her.

“She still thinks we’re working for her, remember? We can just go in the front door. She’s expecting us anyway.” Feferi went through the servant’s door anyway, saying the guards would get suspicious if they saw she was with the Queen’s Personal Pirates.

Once at the gates, Sollux requested they have an audience with the Queen. The guards shared a look, then led them to the doors to the throne room. They left them in the hands of the throne room guards and returned to their posts.

This was it. They were feet away from the Fisher-Queen herself. Eridan couldn’t help but think of his dream earlier that morning. Then he remembered how long ago it felt. Was it really only that morning? It felt like weeks ago. He cast a glance over at Sollux, who nodded resolutely.

They were doing this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Barnes' sea shanty](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49FWp7WLYKw)  
>  if u catch a typo or just want to cry about pirates and homestuck check out [my tumblr](http://oakleafupdate.tumblr.com/ask)

**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr Page](http://oakleafupdate.tumblr.com)


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